Indiana History Table of Contents

The history of Indiana that is provided here should be perceived as a brief history on the development and foundation of our state. The text was compiled from several sources, including some college textbooks and primary sources. If you have any questions about Indiana History or the content of these pages contact education@centerforhistory.org with your questions or comments about the text. The text is divided up into "sections" of Indiana's history for easy viewing.

Facts and Statistics about Indiana
    Date of Statehood
    State Capital
    Lowest Point in Indiana
    Highest Point in Indiana
    Current Governor
    Origin of the Name Indiana
    Origin of the Nickname "Hoosier"
    State Population
    Indiana's Size
    Indiana's Governmental Structure
    Animals that once called Indiana home
    Indiana's Natural Disasters: Tornadoes
    Indiana's Natural Disasters: Floods
    Actors and Actresses who have called Indiana home
    Famous Indiana Musicians
Indiana State Symbols
Indiana Counties Names and Origins
Early Indiana (    -1779)
    European Exploration and Native American tribes
    The French in Indiana
        Robert LaSalle
    The English in Indiana
        The French and Indian War
    Americans in Indiana
        George Rogers Clark
Indiana Becomes a State (1780-1815)
    Indian Conflicts
        The Battle of Fallen Timbers
    Indiana as a Territory
    Tecumseh and his brother The Prophet
    The War of 1812
Indiana, the Nineteenth State (1816)
The Indiana Constitutional Convention
Pioneer Settlers in Indiana (1790-1849)
    Transportation in Indiana
        Steamboats
    Indianapolis Becomes the State Capital
    Further Transportation Developments
        Canals
        Railroads
        Electric Railways
Education and Religion Before the Civil War (1850-1860)
Slavery and the Civil War (1861-1865)
    Indiana and the Civil War
        Governor Oliver P. Morton
        Indiana's Call to Arms
        James Lanier
        The Effect of the Civil War on Indiana
The Development of Modern Indiana (1865-1900)
    The Fifteenth Amendment
    Bitter Reconstruction
    Reconstruction Governors in Indiana
        Thomas A. Hendricks
            The Panic of 1873
        James D. "Blue Jeans" Williams
The Golden Era of Indiana (1900-1941)
"I am the law in Indiana," the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana
D.C. Stephenson and the Indiana Klan
The Progressive Years (1900-1920)
Indiana Industrialization
Indiana Through Change (1920-1940)
    The Growth of Cities
    Steel is King
    The Automobile in Indiana
    Changes after World War I
    The Great Depression
        The WPA-Works Progress Administration
Facts and Statistics of St. Joseph County
    Size
    Population
    Founded
    County Seat
    Townships
The History of St. Joseph County, Indiana
    Famous men in South Bend history
        Pierre Navarre
        Alexis Coquillard
        Lathrop Taylor
        Henry M. Stull
        Horatio Chapin
        Colonel Norman Eddy
        Judge Thomas Stanfield
        Almond Bugbee

    The Removal of the Miami and Potawatomi Tribes from Northern Indiana
    Early South Bend
        City Improvements
            Transportation
            Communication
            Water Works-including the famous South Bend Standpipe

    The Industries of South Bend and Mishawaka
        The Studebaker Manufacturing Company
        The Oliver Chilled Plow Works
        The Birdsell Manufacturing Company
        The Singer Sewing Machine Company
        The South Bend Toy Company
        The Staley Manufacturing Company
        The Abstract & Tile Corporation
        Meyer's Hardware
        The South Bend Tribune
        Other Companies

    Local Politics and Government
        Mayors of South Bend
Local African American History

The Huggart Settlement
Free Blacks and the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad
African American Settlements in Cass County, Michigan
The Powell Family and Early Black Churches in South Bend
African Americans in the Workplace
African American Milestones in Education
Links to local Polish History

http://www.rootsweb.com/~instjose/LadewskiPapers/luckysworld.htm -This website, hosted by the St. Joseph County Gen Web site, contains the digitized papers of South Bend Genealogist Gertrude "Lucky" Ladewski which reside at the Center for History. Although Lucky's effort concentrated on the Polish Roman Catholic experience, her work contains many different ethnic family groups who contributed to what has become St Joseph County.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~instjose/immigration/poland/thepolesinsouthbendto1914.htm -This paper, by Rev. Joseph Swastek MA, University of Notre Dame, is a fine overview of the Polish experience here in St. Joseph County.

Copyright
Users may download material displayed on this site for noncommercial, educational purposes only, provided all copyright and other proprietary notices contained on the materials are retained. Unauthorized use of the Northern Indiana Historical Society d/b/a Northern Indiana Center for History's logo and Web site logo is not permitted. The contents of this site may not be used for commercial purposes, without written permission of the Northern Indiana Historical Society d/b/a Northern Indiana Center for History. To obtain permission to reproduce information on this site, submit the specifics of your request in writing to marketing@centerforhistory.org or Director of Marketing, Center for History, 808 West Washington Street, South Bend, Indiana 46601. If permission is granted, the wording "provided with permission from the Northern Indiana Center for History" and the date must be noted. However, permission is not required to create a link to the Northern Indiana Center for History's Web site or any pages contained therein.

Questions? Contact education@centerforhistory.org